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Quincy, Illinois amiga Gloria Reiser wrote yesterday:

For the life of me, I don’t know how you write poetry on the fly like that. But the idea of a poetry reading where the poets create the poetry on the spot is more than intriguing. Authors reading from their novels, poetry and/or their non fiction works would be interesting as well. We don’t tend to get that here in Forgotonia.

“Re Heavy Wait, a question: WHO was your real life Mary Lou?!? You don’t have to answer in public if you don’t wanna…. but through the years all your wives and near wives have become scrambled in my mind. Betty and Cathy and Pat and Debora stand out… the rest are a blur.”

I replied:

Can’t explain how I write poetry on the fly; it just happens. All of my poems are like that; they just happen, although usually I’m alone, not under time or audience pressure.

Mary Lou was a composite. You may not remember one of my wives whose name I won’t say. Patricia came on as the novel was being written, I did not know we were going to be an item until after it was finished. She is not in the composite, nor is Cathy, nor is Deborah.

Three of the other poems to order poets were at last night’s first Sunday of the month Poetry Guild meeting, which was set up just for lightning rounds without a featured guest poet, which is how I prefer it, the variety, steady turn over. They each read several of their made up on the spot poems from the afternoon before, impressive, and I read the three I had made up, although I rather imagine they made themselves up and I just took dictation.

For me, last night’s Guild meeting was far and away the most fun Guild meeting. Lots of very good poetry from maybe 15 poets, including Key West’s new poet laureate Kirby Congden.

The city’s old poet laureate is Robert Frost,

who lived here back in that day. Last night I said the old poet laureate had said he took the one less traveled by and that had made all the difference, and so had Kirby.

I got a chance to tell them Heavy Wait now is available in Kindle, and after that happened I learned the early part of Kindle books, through the first two chapters in Heavy Wait, can be previewed for free at www.amazon.com.

You did not ask who was my real life Willa Sue, who became the most famous woman in America? Maybe in the whole world.

while I was having breakfast yesterday morning at Harpoon Harry’s, School Board member Andy Griffiths

came up and nudged my back and said how about the Alabama-Auburn game? I said he might wish to read about that in my post yesterday morning, but the short version was God didn’t want Alabama to play Florida State because of the unresolved rape allegation against its quarterback.

Then, old amigo Cecil Bain came in and really tried to make me feel terrible and depressed about the game; we tease each other heaps. I laughed, said, it was a Divine Intervention, God didn’t want Alabama to play Florida State because of the rape allegation against its quarterback. Cecil is well-aware of my blaming God for just about every and any thing I get involved in. His eyebrows raised only slightly.

I said Alabama’s field goal kicker was about as good as there was in America this year, until that game. He missed three short field goals. How come he suddenly was hexed? Cecil’s eyebrows raised a little higher. He said, in this day, somebody might have gotten paid to throw the game. I said, do you really think that young man threw the game for money, and now is blaming himself, and being blamed, for Alabama losing the game? No, Cecil said.

The last field goal was attempted by Alabama’s backup kicker, it fell slightly short, was run back for a TD.

Later yesterday, must have been something in the air, I was walking to my car to go pick up Erika and Joel Biddle and head up to Big Pine Key for the wonderful grand opening of Grimal Grove on Big Pine Key (more on that later). I heard Superintendent of Schools Mark Porter across the street from where I stay

consoling a depressed Alabama fan I did not know.Mark is from Minnesota, I supposed he was a Minnesota and Big Ten football fan.

After the depressed Alabama fan drove off, I walked over and said hi to Mark and finally got to meet his wife – they had moved down here last year after Mark was became the first hired superintendent. They were visiting my neighbor who also works for the school district. Before Mark was hired, superintendents were elected until the Acevedo scandal, after which they were appointed by the governor until a local referendum passed changing the superintendent to being hired and not elected.

I told Mark and his wife that God didn’t want Alabama to play Florida State, it wasn’t a good idea for anyone to play Florida State, which should have benched its quarterback until it was all resolved, regardless of whether or not he is innocent or guilty; that was the right thing to do. However, I said, I would not tell his Alabama friend that, it might get me killed. Marks said, yes, I should not tell his Alabama friend that.

I said my father and Bear Bryant were really tight, and I’m about as big an Alabama fan as there is. Mark said he knew that. He gets the teasers for my daily ravings, I suppose sometimes he reads them. I said he had told the School Board when they were interviewing him, I was present, that he and his wife were people of faith, so I was telling him why Alabama lost that game.

Sloan:
I agree about Florida State not playing unless those allegations are resolved; There is a serious morality issue with their quarterback which involves the entire program.

On a much lighter note, especially is you are an Auburn fan,

happy Auburn fans swarm the field last Saturday

a former employee of my father’s company, also a friend of mine, also a big Auburn fan, wrote yesterday:

The Iron Bowl brought me a memory. Many years ago, your Father and I occasionally made $1 bets on Iron Bowls. One year, Bama was a 18-20 point favorite. He wanted to bet me $1 and give me the points. I didn’t really want the points and told him I wanted 5 to 1 odds and no points. Auburn won the game outright LOL When I got to work on Monday, there was a $5 bill on my desk. Neither of us ever mentioned the bet or the game, and that was the last bet we ever made. LOL

I replied:

Was that the “punt Bama punt” game? A similar not fond memory

one of two of Auburn defensive back David Langner’s blocked Alabama punts, which he picked up and ran in for two touchdowns, Auburn 17, Alabama 16, as I still sadly recall

Mike wrote:

I think it might have been lol

Did I have the same bet with you? I know I had that bet with several people.

I wrote:

No, but nice try

Someone at Harpoon Harry’s yesterday morning,

after overhearing my conversation with Cecil Bains, said if Auburn beats Missouri in the SEC championship game in two weeks, then Auburn and Alabama will end up ranked 3 and 4 and will play again. I said, wow, that was a possibility I had not yet begun to consider.

Iron Bowl II

Maybe I should root for Missouri, not sure I am up to watching another Alabama-Auburn game this year. Not sure my 71 year-old-arteries and ticker could take it. Might be more dangerous than my being picked up by another biker chick. I told the Poetry Guild a little about that last night, but only a little. I said they could see the whole report in yesterday’s post at goodmorningkeywest.com

On Grimal Grove grand opening,

Erika Biddle with the fellows responsible for Grimal Grove being reclaimed and restored. The fellow on the left is an 8th grade Florida Keys school teacher. The fellow on the right is a musician and recording studio owner from the mainland. You should have heard his violin dance and sing yesterday afternoon. You should have heard it. His guitar singer friend was dynamite, too. Ditto, the harp player before them. They made angels sing. Erika, Joel and I wanted to stay for more music, but I had a Poetry Guild meeting to attend in Key West.

My opinion, the Grove is hugely important for all of the Keys. It is a tropical fruit tree orchard with a brilliant cistern irrigation system and large trees growing in large holes the founder, now deceased, created by dynamiting the cap rock and hauling it away.

Before taking title just a few days ago, on a hope and a prayer, the new owners did this entire project on a shoe string, taking what came. They gained volunteer workers, mostly from the mainland, who are clearing the 3 acres, which were completely overgrown and littered with trash, which led to huge code enforcement fines, most of which the county government waived so the reclamation could proceed. They might need more volunteer workers. They seek donations to their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation.

I told them how to get free publicity in the Keys: contact Bill Becker, News Coordinator at US 1 Radio on Big Pine Key; Steve Estes, Publisher of the News-Barometer newspaper on Big Pine Key; send progress reports to www.bigpinekey.com‘s widely-read Coconut Telegraph bitch and gossip blog. Send me progress reports to publish. And contact Key West the Newspaper (www.thebluepaper.com), the Key West Citizen (www.keysnews.com) and the Keynoter (www.keysnet.com)

There is no need for them to spend money advertising something this important. The Keys community should spread the word far and wide. This is sacred ground; you will see that, you will feel it, when you walk it.